A Story from The Pavements
by DearSweetPapercut
Summary: "People need change, they need to do something to remind themselves that they are still living."- Sara and Greg discuss Catherine's departure and what it means.


This is one-shot set post 12x12.

Sara and Greg discuss Catherine's departure and what it means.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**A Story from The Pavements **

The neon lights of Vegas seemed to never burn out, a flickering endlessly juxtaposition against the inky black sky that spread out for miles above them. A mug of fresh coffee slowly steamed on the table outside the cafe where Sara had decided to sit. She lit a cigarette attempting to ignore the world around her- the people, the sound of traffic, the heat of living in the middle of a desert. As she took the first drag of her cigarette a pang of guilt settled in the pit of her stomach; she'd promised her husband that she'd quit. But with a sense of rebellion, that she knew she would never be able to kick, she'd hidden packets in places she knew that Gil would never look retrieving them when the stress of the job became too much.

Taking a mouthful of the bitter tasting coffee she closed her eyes, her head in her hands focusing simply on what she was feeling- heavy air lingering on her skin, the feeling of hot concrete beneath her feet and the fatigue washing slowly over her. The events of the past week ran through her mind at high speed; everything up to the point where Catherine announced that she was leaving to work for the FBI. A sense of desperation filled her body as she attempted hold on to few things that remained the same in her life. She wasn't sure she could handle the loss of another friend, another important person that was important to her. As Sara glanced up her eyes met the sympathetic gaze of someone who cared.

Sara realised that her relationship with Greg Sanders had been one of the only things that had remained constant in her life for the last twelve years. He had always been there with a knowing smile and an embrace. And when she had returned to Vegas for the first time in two years he had welcomed her with open arms, letting her fall into him as if there was no other place for her to be. He was like the winter- lingering, refreshing, and reliable. But in that moment he looked as worn out and as wary as she did.

Reaching over he took the cigarette from her fingers and took a drag from her vice watching the people that were mulling around them and their imperfect peace. Sara watched him silently, observing how the things that had made him himself had slowly been adapting over the years. He wore a black suit, a carefully chosen navy shirt and a black silk tie that glimmered in the light every time he shifted in his seat. The smile lines around his eyes and mouth had gained more definition over the years simply adding to his charm.

Greg handed her back the cigarette and watched her take a drag studying her in the way that she had done him. He could see the sadness that glinted in her eyes as she attempted to keep her composure in front of the world. It was a tiny glimmer of emotion that he had learnt to identify over the years. It was a cue to pulling her close and letting her be vulnerable because even now she found it hard to be that exposed. He saw something else in Sara's eyes. It was something he identified with; exhaustion.

"I'm going to miss her too." he hypothesised, realising that Sara was not going to say a word; she had never been easy to read. With a nod she took a long drag from the cigarette before handing it back to Greg.

"Sometimes...change is good." He said slowly not taking his eyes off the ground by his feet.

"Sometimes" Sara responded, not saying anything else.

"Catherine is doing what's best, people need change, they need to do something to remind themselves that they are still living." Greg spoke in a low voice as if attempting to word a theory correctly before telling anyone.

"I understand...I really do." Sara replied just a quietly stubbing out the cigarette in the ashtray at the centre of the table. She recalled how she'd felt the first day she had woke up to find that she was no longer in Vegas; stretching out in bed, she'd rolled over and fallen into an undisturbed sleep again overwhelmed by the small sense of freedom that had made itself apparent in her life.

"It's not worth living your life for someone, something else. We all know how painfully short it, life, can be." he added hoping to spark something in Sara that would finally lead her to open up, but she didn't, simply nodding leaning back against the wall with her eyes closed.

"Sometimes you need to take a leap of faith." Greg continued staring off into the distance. It was if they were both lost in completely different worlds, together but apart. To Greg it felt as if they were always like that- always close but so far apart from anything real, anything tangible.

"Sara, are you happy?" He asked bluntly, his voice coming out with a raspy tone that accounted for ever cigarette he had ever smoked.

"What?" She asked opening her eyes, turning ever so slightly to face him.

"Can you look me in the eye and tell me that you are happy, that you feel like you're living?" He asked watching her carefully with his bright eyes.

"What type of a question is that?" Sara asked glancing down at her hands.

"It's a real question, an honest question." He answered her not even slightly unnerved by her resistance.

"I am what I am." Was her reply, a sentence wrapped up in riddles- her words had always left him reeling and unravelling. But this time it wasn't enough. It was finally time for him to claim everything he had pinned his hopes on.

"That's not an answer Sara." Greg spoke slowly informing her that he would not let this go. This was not another thing that she could simply avoid and walk away.

"You know I'm not..." She said with a sense of confidence that seemed to oxymoronically match her confession. "...or you wouldn't have asked."

Greg silently stood up and walked slowly around to her side of the table with a look of nervousness that she hadn't seen in a long time. He offered Sara his hand waiting with his hopeful eyes and his bleeding heart. For a second that seemed to last forever he thought that she would break his heart all over again but Sara took his hand with her own shaking one.

Her heart beat increased as she anticipated his next move as he pulled her to her feet her body colliding with his. One of Greg's arms was around her waist holding her flush against him, her chest heaving slightly as her breathing picked up pace. He gently brushed her hair out of her face tucking it behind her ear before planting his lips on hers. They kissed slowly not caring who saw them because they had become like sand completely lost to the mercy of the ocean melting into each other and their emotions. As their kiss slowed they pulled barely inches apart not wanting to let go of the one thing that seemed to feel right, Greg whispered to her his eyes not moving away from Sara's.

"_Take a chance." _

The world around them melted into simply just noise and lights disappearing from their vision becoming nothing but a backdrop. It felt as if the false nature of neon no longer mattered because in those few seconds they had created something bona fide.

**The End **


End file.
